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Grammys to honor George Beverly Shea

George Beverly Shea, longtime soloist for Billy Graham crusades, will be honored with a Lifetime Achievement Award at the 2011 Grammy Awards.

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NASHVILLE, Tenn. (BP)--George Beverly Shea, longtime soloist for the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association, will be honored with a Lifetime Achievement Award in conjunction with the 2011 Grammy Awards.

Shea, who will turn 102 the week before the Feb. 13 Grammy Awards telecast, learned of the honor just before Christmas, according to a statement released by Shea's publicist, A. Larry Ross Communications.

"I was surprised to receive the call from The Recording Academy president before Christmas and am honored for the recognition," Shea said in the statement. "The music has been for God's glory."

Shea still performs publicly, having sung at several Christmas concerts near his home in Asheville, N.C., the statement said. In November, he joined longtime colleagues Billy Graham and Cliff Barrows at an event in Charlotte, N.C., celebrating the 60th anniversary of the founding of the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association.

Over his 80-year career, Shea produced more than 70 albums of hymns, including nine CDs, the statement said. He has received 10 previous Grammy nominations and one Grammy Award, in 1965.

Also being recognized in this year's Lifetime Achievement Awards ceremony will be Julie Andrews, Roy Haynes, the Juilliard String Quartet, the Kingston Trio, Dolly Parton and the Ramones, the statement said. According to The Recording Academy's website (www.grammy.com), the Lifetime Achievement Award honors lifelong artistic contributions to the recording medium, and is determined by vote of The Recording Academy's national board of trustees.

The 53rd Annual Grammy Awards will be broadcast live Feb. 13 at 8 p.m. ET on CBS.

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